In Portsmouth: Gourmet meal to benefit bullying.org in memory of Jason Cynewski

By Michelle Kingston

mkingston@fosters.com

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

PORTSMOUTH — The Blue Mermaid Island Grill will host a benefit dinner next week in memory of Jason Cynewski.

On Wednesday, Jan. 16, at 6:30 p.m., local guest culinary professionals LuAnn Neff and Rob Cunningham, friends of the Cynewski family, will be putting on their tallest chef hats and impressing guests with a gourmet meal.

Restaurant owners Karen and Scott Logan have these specialty dinners three to four times a year where they pair the meals with a beer, wine or spirit, or sometimes all three.

“The culinary team loves them. It gives them the opportunity to be creative and interact with the guests,” Karen said. “They usually speak about each dish when it is served. They are educational and fun for guests and our staff.”

The restaurant does not always partner with not-for-profits, but Karen said it was important to them that they have a dinner for Cynewski.

“It was at our last beer dinner in October, which LuAnn and Rob attended, where we talked about having them be guest chefs. This was a month before Jason died,” Karen said. “After that happened, we decided to make it a reality and support bullying.org. We can’t imagine what the Cynewski family is going through and our hearts go out to them. Hopefully it will bring some laughter and fun for friends and family of the Cynewskis.”

Most of their specialty dinners offer Community Giving Days for not-for-profits if it is something they wish to support.

“They decided to give a portion of the proceeds for this dinner to anti-bullying in Jason’s memory,” Neff said.

Cynewski, 25, of South Berwick, Maine, died in a car accident on Nov. 14, 2012, in Corinth, Maine. He attended Marshwood schools before graduating from Foxcroft Academy in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine. He was a varsity football and basketball player, with a love for running, wakeboarding, skiing and Bob Dylan. He is survived by his parents, Dave and Lori, and sister, Lindsey, of South Berwick, Maine.

This dinner will be the first time Cunningham will have the opportunity to work with his son, Aidan, professionally, in a restaurant setting.

Aidan is currently a chef at the Blue Mermaid.

Neff, who owned Washington Street Eatery in Portsmouth until 1993, is excited to announce the menu for the night in Cynewski’s honor.

The first course is tomato bisque with steamed mussels in brown ale and oven-dried plum tomatoes, charred fennel and herb crostini. The salad will feature radicchio and arugula with blood orange, caramelized red onion and ricotta salata ribbons with a Pale Ale vinaigrette. The main course is Cinghiale Dolce Forte, a wild boar stew, with baked polenta and grilled asparagus. Dessert is a vanilla poached Anjou pear with mascarpone, blue cheese and pecans drizzled with a dark chocolate stout sauce.

The dinner is sponsored by Sierra Nevada, with specific beers paired with each course, and is $55 per person, with a portion of the cost being donating to bullying.org. To make a reservation, call (603) 427-2583.